Bicycles of a multitude of styles, shapes, and sizes are well known in the art. Bicycles are the fastest and most popular means of human powered transportation, and are capable of sustaining speeds of nearly 35 miles per hour over flat ground. Millions of dollars are spent every year in an attempt to develop faster bicycles. Three basic factors affect the speed at which a bicycle travels. These are: (1) the amount of power delivered by the rider(s), (2) the frictional forces acting upon the bicycle (wind, rolling and mechanical drag), and (3) the weight of the bicycle and rider(s). Therefore, to create the fastest bicycle possible, power and aerodynamics must be maximized, while friction and weight must be minimized. The power input is controlled by the number and physical condition of the riders, while the friction and weight are controlled by technology and aerodynamics. Increasing the number of riders on the bicycle to two or three increases the power input, but correspondingly increases the friction and weight. However, if the riders are closely aligned in the direction of travel, the average aerodynamic drag per rider is significantly reduced much as it is when a single rider "drafts" by getting immediately behind another rider. In fact, putting two or three riders on one bicycle is much more efficient than drafting on individual bicycles because the riders are situated much closer (nearly in contact with one another) than would be physically possible on individual bicycles. For example, when riding a three person bicycle, it is estimated that the aerodynamic drag is only 1.4 to 1.8 times (not three times) as much as that acting on an individual bicycle at the same speed. This is due to the low pressure tunnel created for the second and third riders by the first or front rider breaking the wind. The important result is that with three riders, each rider has to overcome approximately one-half the aerodynamic drag force that an individual rider would encounter on a standard individual bicycle traveling at the same speed.
While the reduced aerodynamic drag force per rider of multiple rider bicycle is indeed advantageous, there do exist limiting factors which restrict the number of riders on a practical two-wheeled vehicle. The increased wheel base necessary to support additional riders makes the bicycle difficult to both construct and control. Because of the long wheelbase, a large and heavy frame is required to support the weigh of the three riders without intolerable flexing. Such a long wheelbase three-person bicycle is shown in FIG. 1.